Disease?? i doubt it

[anoop]

Hello Everyone...

Today i noticed two white spots on my Oscar.. is that a fungal attack?

[~RuSh~]

It's hard to tell from that pic. It mostly looks like a scrape or some type of minor injury.

Are the white spots raised?

[anoop]

no they seem to be in the surface,,, also upon closely noticing the fish.. i could see that there are white granules or what to say.. salt like material protruding, they are not in large numbers/group.. but kind a spread all over the body.. these white pigments are not visible normally.. only upon close examination..

[Tom]

White granules like salt crystals stuck to the fish?

[anoop]

yes..like minute bubbles.. u feel like scratchin. and can remove it from fish body.. another thing is that the white spots thats shown in the picture appears just like the orange color in the body...

[Tom]

Sounds like Ich.
Here's a link to our articles section that has a lot of info on treatment options.
http://www.oscarfish.com/article-home/118-ich-links-to-in-depth-articles-and-effective-treatmentseradication.html
Caught early, it's not a high risk to your fish.
I prefer the heat/salt treatment, no chemicals...

[~RuSh~]

The small white granules sound like Ich. I would use Tom's recommendation for Ich treatment as well. No need for medication to treat Ich unless it is in an advanced stage.

The white spots pictured on the side of your fish do not look like Ich. Those spots are too large. Any chance we could get a better picture?

[anoop]

the white granules/bubbles are clearly visible now and are more in number.. the fins also has some of it.. about the white mark.. i think its because the oscar tries to rub its body to stones and it might have lost the scales ...

[~RuSh~]

That's definitely a logical explanation. Ich can cause skin irritation and a common sign of ich or various parasites is flashing, just like you described.

I would add salt to the tank, and increase the heat slowly as indicated by the link Tom provided.

[anoop]

Ok thanks dude... first thing next morning will be water change followed by the treatment procedure... will be back if i need more help

[Tom]

Be sure to vacuum the gravel daily to remove any cysts that drop off your fish during the treatment.
Keep vacuuming daily for 2 weeks AFTER you see the last signs of the spots on your fish, because those cysts contain thousands of protozoa (baby parasites), and if left in the tank, will likely re infect your fish.

[anoop]

how about keeping a clean tank.. with no gravel? just oscar n the filtering?

[~RuSh~]

Bare bottoms are easy to clean, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't still clean them.

Especially with Ich, I'd still do a small gravel vac every day. Can't hurt anything.

[Tom]

The idea is to remove the cysts that fall from the fish.
Vacuuming a bare bottom tank is certainly easier than one with substrate.
If this means you are moving the fish to a bare bottom tank, you'll still have to vacuum the tank he was in several times to remove any of the cysts that already will have dropped.

[anoop]

i moved my 2" to a bucket.. while cleaning the aquarium.. while checking the fish i could see that the color has faded to grey.. i suppose its due to the change in environment or due to stress may be... on checking closely, i figured that the cysts are barely there...so once moved back to aquarium... he should be Ok i guess.. well about the heating the water. can some one guide me what are the necessities/apparatus.. any links to the same would be very helpful.

[Tom]

I use these (actually an older version without the on/off indicators):
http://www.marineland.com/sites/Marinel ... 3&mid=3226
What size depends on:
The ambient temperature of your tank (i.e what temp it sits at with no heaters).
The size of your tank.
What temperature you want to get it up to (in this case you want the temperature to exceed 36 C).
For my 120g tank I have a pair of 250W heaters.

Oscars are always beating up stuff in the tank, so get a shatterproof unit whatever you do.
Don't change temp any more than around 1 deg every 12 hr to prevent shock to your fish.

[anoop]

Thanks Tom..

[anoop]

good news... the cysts have reduced in number and they are seen only on the fins now and that too 2-3 in number..

[~RuSh~]

Good news. Remember to continue treatment at least 7 days AFTER the last visible sign of Ich is gone. Some of the cysts can lay dormant and if you stop treatment too soon, it may come back, and with a vengance.

[anoop]

i had plans to take the fish out and then clean the aquarium with hot water with salt added. ,

since we here have our own water source, i dont face any problems with water change.

[Kmuda]

No need... and doing so may cause more harm than good as the hot water will nuke the beneficial bacteria in the substrate. Depending on how well you are filtered, this could cause a cycle. That... and the added stress of catch and release (twice) on your fish while it is recovering from an illness could cause other problems.

Catching fish is very stressful to them. I've had otherwise healthy fish die after being caught, bucketed, and released.

[anoop]

oh! i have removed the substrate already.. its just the plain tank and the fish.. i changed 80% of water everyday and adding salt while refilling the tank.

[Kmuda]

Keep an eye on the ammonia and nitrite levels.

[anoop]

Okay..

[anoop]

http://picasaweb.google.co.in/lh/photo/X5ijNI8oN6u8urYK494JY8Q7PiGKoRKuflJzC4mRbgU?feat=directlink

He's all good now.. thanks everyone for the help